May issue is out now!

Welcome to our May edition

Summer is notoriously quiet time for UAE businesses with the blazing temperatures sending expats and locals alike off to more clement climes for several weeks at a time.

Yet shutting up shop for two months is not an option for most beauty and spa businesses, and with careful thought and planning July and August can be lucrative. To succeed in these months you should be thinking ahead now, and our columnist Maria Dowling has prepared five handy tips to help you start. Read her article “Here comes summer” and start summer proof your business.

In a competitive environment, having a unique selling point or bespoke offering is essential. The Four Season’s spa are renowned for differentiation and it was with great interest that learned how to bespoke treatment menu was crafted for the chain’s spa at its new DIFC hotel, in collaboration with spa partners Terres d’Afrique.

First impressions count. We have had treatment experiences spoiled by a lukewarm welcome or unhelpful receptionist. Your reception area is the first port of call for visitors and as such should run like clockwork. In our HJ section “First impression” explains how to capitalise on your business’ reception area.

Finally, on a more sombre note, in our news section we give tribute to Charlene Florian, chief creative officer at skincare brand Kerstin Florian, who sadly passed away after a battle with cancer last month. We were lucky enough to interview Charlene during one of her visits to Dubai in 2014 when she expressed great excitement over the unfurling wellies scene here. Charlene truly was one of the industry’s leading lights and her legacy will live on.

 Read the issue here